In 2008, I worked for a startup for free in hopes that it will be compensated at the end. We did achieved our goals, but the owner gave me just $5K and kept the

In 2008, I worked for a startup for free in hopes that it will be compensated at the end. We did achieved our goals, but the owner gave me just $5K and kept the rest for himself (he even screwed up his own bother). It's my mistake, of course, but that's not what I want to talk about here. I've started to accumulate a lot of credit card debt. Not because I was spending a lot (although having a family means paying health insurance, rent, etc. - all adding up to a pretty significant amount, which ate up my savings at the moment), but because my APR went up to well over 30% on all credit cards. I was paying over $5K a month at some point and my balance was ever increasing. I tried talking to the banks, nobody was willing to adjust, of course. I've never had a missed payment in my life till then. At one point, I went to talk to a friend, a very prominent VC in Southern California. He told me: "You're crazy! These credit cards are crooks! What they are doing should be illegal. Stop paying - it's the only way to grab their attention and negotiate!" So, I listened to him, didn't make a payment for over 6 months, then I settled on 50% of the balance and it that was the end of that chapter of my life. My point is, sometimes it's the banks to be blamed. If they've kept my below 10% APR, all would have been fun for everyone. At the end of the they after the settlement, they made the same money, but they put me and my family under so much stress, and some sent me tax documents for the difference between the balance and the settlement that was taxable income! I.e. money I've never actually got, I had to pay income tax on it! It's a big scheme, I just don't how banks get around. I'm sure there are valid use cases, but in many like mine, I was being greatly abused.